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This approach is one of five suggested ways of applying open pedagogy in the learning environment and using Open Educational Resources (OERs) from existing repositories. On this page we define the approach, emphasise its requirements and use examples to show practical evidence of applying the suggested approaches in the educational settings.
Subject design and development can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. Academics are usually required to spend considerable efforts on developing online content for their subjects in the LMS. Using the ‘curate and remix’ approach can shorten the process and enrich subject sites with a diverse range of quality content.
For instance, making use of existing interactive H5P elements or providing ancillary resources such as simulations or using openly available quizzes. This is probably the most practiced approach by many academics, however, sometimes a few elements get missed out by an oversight.
Requirements
In order to use the ‘curate and remix for LMS’ approach, academics usually need to work through the following requirements.
Checking platform compatibility with the LMS
Some OERs can be easily embedded into LMS (such as H5P) but other resources require redirection to an external website such as the open exercise in Grasple.
Alignment to learning objectives
It’s vital to ensure that the resource is contributing towards the learning objectives and there are clear benefits for students to start working through the resource.
Consistency
Consistency is an important element to help ensure that the OER is presenting consistent information with other existing material. You may also check for consistency with the general faculty requirements such as referencing style as well as measurement units.
Tools & Resources
Probably the most obvious example is using OER in an online learning environment to develop a subject site or provide ancillary resources to support the learning. For instance, Canvas (our LMS here in UTS) is similar to other LMSs in that it provides both a user friendly and interoperable environment for many OER.
Often providing interactive resources such as simulations can be costly. Therefore, making use of existing simulation repositories such as Medicine LibreTexts offers academics in health and science encapsulated learning objects with simulations and interactive OER to support their learning.
The MERLOT system provides access to curated online learning and support materials and content creation tools, led by an international community of educators, learners and researchers. The collection consists of tens of thousands of discipline-specific learning materials, learning exercises, all intended to enhance the teaching experience of using a learning material. All the materials in MERLOT are reviewed for suitability for retention in the collection. Many undergo the more extensive ‘peer review’ for which MERLOT is famous.
Other popular examples of OER for the ‘curate and mix for LMS’ approach include the PHET project which provides free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations. John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health open courseware offers learning materials and images from more than a hundred courses developed by the faculty of JHSPH and other institutions of public health education and research.